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If you know in your heart that you need Jesus Christ in your life. Then pray this simple prayer.
Dear God,I know that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I invite Christ into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.
If you have done this then you now need to find a Bible believing and preaching church. The links section at the left or below, depending on your browser, has links to some local churches in my area. You can e-mail them if they are not in your area. They may be able to help you find one in your area.

Firestorm

He maybe the most popular hero to come out of the DC Implosion. Firestorm the Nuclear Man. He is on the cover above with Superman. Sorry I didn't have a copy of the cover of any of Firestorm's books. I couldn't find any in my collection and I did still have this one. Anyway in researching Firestorm I came across Wikipedia and they have a very detailed page on Firestorm so I suggest you go to this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestorm_%28comics%29 However my personal recollection of Firestorm is to me he seemed like DC's reaction to Nova from Marvel comics. He probably wasn't but they were sometimes trying to copy each other. As examples, DC had the Atom then Marvel had Ant-Man. Marvel had Mr. Fantastic so DC started using Plastic Man and for a short while Jimmy Olsen was Elastic Lad. DC had Batman Marvel tried to turn Moon Knight and Daredevil into there Batman. Recently Marvel found drawings of a character that Stan Lee and John Buscema created called Sentry. He was to be their version of Superman. Marvel had success with a teenage superhero now DC needs one. Up poped Firestorm. Firestorm only lasted about 6 issues when he first came out. He has had 2 other series since then. So far the 2nd series was the most popular as it lasted 100 issues. They kept him around by having him join the JLA. As a matter of fact the issue above is important in Firestorm's career. At the end of the story Superman asked him to join the JLA. About a month later he had his first adventure with them. Marvel should have had Nova join the Avengers instead of the New Warriors. He may still be around in his original form today. Nova's personality has changed abit over the years. But I guess that happens as you grow up.

Another Steve Ditko creation

If you go to booksteve's library http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com you can read about another character that Ditko had a hand in creating. Blue Beetle. Well actually it was Blue Beetle II that for some reason DC decided to kill off. Again I think that was a mistake. But sometimes good things come out of bad decisions. 

Steve Ditko's Shade the Changing Man

Continuing the articles on the DC Explosion/Implosion. This is the one that I may find the hardest to write as my memory of it is more foggy on it then the others. I had to research this one a bit on the net. I had not even heard of this series till my cousin Steve told me about it. I didn't know where to get it but he did. One day he was comming out to see me and I asked him to get me a copy of it. He did and I loved the artwork. Ditko didn't hold back on the cover art. Just look at it. It is great. The photo of that issue above is from an ad on e-bay if you want to bid on it click on this http://cgi.ebay.com/Shade-the-Changing-Man-1-NM-9-4-Ditko-1977-No-Resv_W0QQitemZ6578758169QQcategoryZ12592QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Rac Shade was a policeman in a place called Meta in another dimension. The M Vest was a weapon that was considered too dangerous for anyone to use. Someone stole and came to our dimension. Here is where memory is foggy. I know that Shade followed the crook to our dimension and got the M-vest back but I forgot why he had to start using it. The powers of the M-vest were that it magnified your emotions. If you were getting mad enough to hit someone then the vest showed you growing into a huge angry man. The villan would be startled and even if you were weaker then him you wouild hit him and hopefully that would be the end of the fight.
Anyway I had a hard time getting into the story line. The only reason to read the series was to see Ditko's artwork. The series only lasted 8 issues. But that wasn't the end of Rac Shade. In his series he never teamed up with Superman or fought the Joker. He was not part of the regular DC continuity. Unlike Black Lightning who did team with Superman. However, they incorporated him into it after his cancelation. They started using him in other series like the Suicide Squad. Later he got his own series again done by Peter Milligan. I don't know anything about this series as I had even less interest in it then the first. Maybe if Ditko did it I would have read it. This series was more successful running about 70 to 80 issues and the first few were collected into a trade paperback. I am sure that Shade will show up again now that he has had a success under his belt. Hopefully it will be something I want to read. 

New Nesmith CD "Rays" news

Here is some news from Videoranch on Mike's new CD.

Michael Nesmith’s new album “Rays” will be out commercially on CD in April of 2006. It will be available at the music sites sometime after the first of the year.

A special Limited Edition run of 100 CDs will be available beginning November 28th, 2005 only at Videoranch. They will each be signed and numbered by Nez.

Each Limited Edition Rays CD package will include:
A CD that is signed and numbered by Nez
Unique Jewel Case and CD Artwork by Michael Nesmith
Display case to display your signed CD on a desk or table.
An 8 1/2 " by 11 " print of the Drew Friedman album cover art that will be on the commercial copy of the CD that's coming out in April
Certificate of Authenticity
The price for the Limited Edition will be $100.00
We will have photos of the entire package plus samples of the songs up at Videoranch.com very soon. For more information and to reserve a copy, please contact us at vrforeman@videoranch.com or call 1-866-727-2639.
Thanks,
The Videoranch Foreman

Well it sounds great but $100 is too much for me. I will wait till April but if I had $100 I might buy this limited edition. 

God loves you here is how to ask Him into your heart

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever, believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16 and 17 king james version

If you know in your heart that you need Jesus Christ in your life. Then pray this simple prayer.
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I invite Christ into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.

If you have done this then you now need to find a Bible believing and preaching church. The links section at the right or below depending on your browser has links to some local churches in my area. You can e-mail them if they are not in your area. They may be able to help you find one in your area.

Freedom Fighters

Here is a bit of an overview of the Freedom Fighters. Seperately they were heroes for Quality comics in the Golden age of comics. DC comics bought the rights to all the Quality characters. Quality's most famous heros were Plastic Man and the Spirit. If they made Plas one of the Freedom Fighters the book may have lasted longer. Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, they weren't a team until the 70's when they were brought together in the Justice League of America. You see the JLA and the JSA and other heroes didn't live on the same earth at that time. To team up the planets had to be in the right alignment and they wouild use deminsion transporters to visit each other. It is sort of hard to explain but alot of fun to read. Anyway on one visit they all accidentally ended up on another earth. It was called earth X but it was where Germany won WWII. The Freedom FIghters were Nazi fighters. They teamed up with them and in 3 issues they won the war without dropping the bomb. A few years later they spun them off into their own book. There were no Nazi's to fight in their own world and I guess crime on there world was under control so they came to the JLA world to fight crime. During the course of the series they became wanted for a crime they didn't commit. They went on the run trying to stop criminals and prove their innocence. Over the years two of the characters got their own series. Black Condor, who is the one flying over them on the cover above, and the man in yellow, the Ray. I never cared too much for Black Condor so I was not surprised that his series was cancelled. The Ray was actually a 2nd generation hero as it was really the son of the Ray. He even became a member of the Justice League. The first Ray did get his own back up series in some other comic books. Not long ago Uncle Sam was given his own mini-series. I was surprised to find that the Ray and Black Condor were the 2 fan favorites at the time. For my money the best was the Human Bomb. He is the gentleman standing in front of the group in the white outfit. WIth him being up front I think DC thought he would be the favorite. When he ..."ahem"...bombed, I think that they were so surprised and upset that they said they would never use him again. I think that is a mistake. His power is that an explosive formula ran throughout his body and concentrated in his hands. Anything he laid his hands on exploded. However, only most of it was in his hands. It was through his whole body and he wore the protective suit so he wouldn't blow up anybody in case he accidentally touched them. Think of what like life would be like if you couldn't touch anything. You would have to sleep in you protective suit or at least in a chamber where you couldn't sense anything. The man would barely be able to hold on to his sanity. He may even come to welcome the moments when he could take his gloves off for those breif moments to blow up a locked door that the police can't get into. Anyway these are things I have had on my mind. 

Black Lightning

Ok here is one of my favorites from the 70's. Black Lightning! He was part of what DC Comics called the DC Explosion. For those of you who don't read comics or not old enough to know, the DC Explosion was a time when DC released Black Lightning, The Freedom Fighters, Firestorm and I believe the Steve Ditko created Shade the Changing Man. However, the DC Explosion quickly became the DC Implosion as all those comics were quickly canceled due to low sales or slow sales.
Alot of those characters are still around. Just not in thier own books. Black Lightning has had his own series twice. Both got cancelled but for my money the first was the best. The writer of his creator Tony Isabella and the art of Trevor Von Eden (whatever happened to him?) was a great mix. Mr. Isabella has said that an issue of Wonder Woman was important in his creation. He knew that he wanted his secret identity to be school teacher Jefferson Pierce. He knew he wanted him to be fighting crime to help his students in the inner city. So far it sounds like Welcome Back Kotter meets Batman doesn't it? He just didn't know what his abilities should be. Then he saw an issue of Wonder Woman trying to stop a bolt of black lightning from hitting the city. Wham! He called the character Black Lightning and his powers would be electrical. His powers came from a power belt that he wore. What really got me about the costume was that the afro that you see was part of the mask. So basically he was wearing a helmet. To me that was cool. Hey I was only 13 when it came out. He was only around for a handful of issues. Was deamed worthy to keep around by doing a spin off from the Justice League of America with Batman starting a new group called the Outsiders. Got is own series again and it only lasted another handful of issues. Don't give up on him yet DC. He is too good to lose. A little known DC character called Static did well with his cartoon series on TV. Maybe they should do the same with BL. Also do an archive edition. I don't buy too many of those but I would be willing to buy that one. Anyway this is what I had on my mind.

A Letter From My Dad

When my Dad was sick and knew he may not make it he wrote me this letter.
To My Son,
Ricky you were the finest son a man could ever want or hope for. You were honest, thoughtful, trusting, generous, never a problem and more things that showed me you loved your fellow man as God would want. Rick always believe and trust in God. Never let anyone tell you any different or try to come between you and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Study your Bible and draw even closer to God through prayer and service to Him. Remember your teaching's of the Bible and always try to live up to them. The Lord will be with you always. Remember and take care of your Mother. She loves you deeply. I love you son. See you in Heaven. Dad

I love you and will see you in Heaven one day too Dad.

Veteran's Day My Dad

If this post looks familier that is because I posted it last week on the wrong day. Oops! Anyway today is veterans day so I am posting a photo of one of my parents. My Dad . He was in the Air Force during the Korean War. He really had it rough. He was stationed in Canada. If you are reading this from Canada then I hope you know that I am kidding. However, it was not as easy as you would think. He was in Newfoundland. I have no idea what Newfoundland is like today but the picture I got from what Dad told me is that it was very cold and icy. Being that far up north was a big change for an Ohio kid. He told me other then your job you were assigned there was not much to do and the men in the white coats were kept busy. Thankfully not with my Dad. In the photo it shows him as a Private but he was a Staff Sgt. And in the Honor Guard when he got out. My Dad was a good Christian man who is now with the Lord. He fought for his country. Raised a good family. Worked for the Lord at his church. This world is a better place because God put him in it. It is hard to put into words what he meant to me. I love him and miss him. I’ll see you again one day in Heaven Dad.

Wimpie

Ok the above photo is not Lassie. It really is not even my dog Wimpie. But it looks like the dog that I had till I was about 6 or 7 years old so that is why I am posting it. You see Wimpie was my first dog. My AUnt Betty and Uncle Ray gave him to me. I loved that dog. One day a man drove by our house when we lived in the country. He saw Wimpie and stopped to ask if we would sell him. My Mom said no. The man drove on. The next day Wimpie was gone. I have often wondered about that and what happened to him. I think about him everytime I see a collie. Whatever did happen to him I hope he was happy. We didn't have him long before he went missing so there are no photos of him. The only photo that I remember having taken of him was by a realtor. They came by and took a photo of our house when it was up for sale and Wimpie was in the front yard and got in the picture. When the realtors book came out and I saw the photo I felt very sad. That was about 40 years ago and I still miss him. 

Veterans Day My Dad part 2

I mentioned that my Dad was in the Honor Guard in my last post. Well here is a photo of him standing proud and tall for the Air Force. That is him on the right. Dad said he he was a guard for President Truman. At big events he even met some famous entertainers like Martin and Lewis. Just wanted you to see him in the Guard.

The Illuminator

Here is an interesting book series. Around 1993 Marvel comics and Thomas Nelson publishers got together to produce this comic book about a Christian superhero. It centers around Andy. Andy is a young high school student who gains wonderful powers that make him the Illuminator. Not long after that he meets Gus the custodian of a local church. Gus leads Andy to Christ and each adventure he has helps lead Andy to Biblical truths.
Why Marvel and Neslon teamed up to do this book is a mystery to me but I am glad they did as it was an enjoyable read. I also am sure that it helped lead others to Christ as the Bible says that His word will not return void. I thought that it on ly lasted 3 issues as that is all I could find. However, I have heard that a 4th and 5th issue were also produced. I didn't find this comicbook in comic book shops or in any local Christian bookstores. I found the 3 that I have in Waldenbooks thanks to my cousin who use to work for them. I have searched the internet to find out more about this but so far all I have come up with is that one of the writers for the series Glenn Herdling also wrote the Beavis and Butthead comic book. Bet ya didn't see that one comming. I know I didn't when I found it.
The photo above is from the back cover of issue #2

Monkees Justus Headquaters

Continuing from the previous note on the Monkees. At the concert most of the songs came from the CD Justus. It was the come back CD for them as a foursome. As most of the Monkees fans know the group has been a quartet, a trio and sometimes a duo. It is with all four of them that they are at their most popular. Since they started out as the cast of a sitcom and later became a band they have fought a long hard fight for creative control of the music. On only two albums have they really been able to take full advnatage of the freedom they were given. Those two were Headquarters and Justus. Oh sure there were others like Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. and the Monkees Present. However, ON P,A,C &J Ltd. they were back shooting their show and had to find recording time in studios around town to mostly just record their singing. The Monkees Presnt was suppose to be a 2 album set but since the show was not that popular and the Monkees as money makers on the record charts was also sliding it became just a regular album. So they had two spotlight moments and in Headquarters they took full advantage and turned out a great pop album. At the time it was overshadowed by the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonly Hearts Club Band and so were the rest of the albums that year. Only in recent years have I seen it turn up in music articles as a great pop album. One critic went so far as to say that if he were alone on an island with just a handful of records that he would listen to he wanted Headquarters as one of them.
Now with Justus alot of fans felt disappointed. I was one of them. We wanted them to come back as those 20 year old who sang happily about puppy love. About that girl that they knew somewhere because they thought she just may be the one cause they can't get her off of their minds. But they didn't and we felt let down. In retrospect I think it is a really good album. Maybe just as good as Headquarters. The men were now older. They have loved and lost. Had children and grandchildren. They started businesses and lost businesses. Like all of us they lived life. Their heartbreak was reflected in their music. The CD to me is now a tribute to how they have endured. Some have said that the CD and the tour that followed was only to help Mike who was having problems with a lawsuit. Well what was wrong with that? 3 friends got together to help another friend. That shows a strong bond. While both CD's are good, there is alot more character to Justus. It's just something I had on my mind. 

Monkees concert

Just got a chance to see the Monkees in concert. It was really a tape of what they did when they got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Since it was sponsered by Billboard Magazine it has become know as the Billboard concert. They had a new album (CD) out called Justus so most of the songs were from that. A true Monkees reunion. They really can rock the house. At one time I heard someone say that Micky was the worst drummer in rock music history. Well they can't say that now. On and off in his career he has probably played the drums for half his life and he was very at home behind that drum set. He should not be remembered for being a bad drummer. After all he only had a few short months to learn it back in the 60's However, he should be know as one of the best singers in pop music history. Anyway that is what I had on my mind. 

Comicx35

Here is a wonderful site http://comix35.gospelcom.net/index.html that is dedicated to spreading the Word of God through Christian Comics. Take a look. It is very interesting. Especially the numbers that is gives on how much more comic books are read overseas then they are in America.

How I learned to read

Like alot of people my age I learned to read with comic books. For this I have to thank my Mom and Dad. You see they had a part time job of repackaging the comics that didn't sell at the local drug stores and selling them packaged as 3 comic books for 29 cents. Remember this was the day when just one book cost 15 cents. They let me read them hoping that I would want to know what they were saying in those colorful drawings. It worked. They also said I could keep any that I wanted. But I wanted to be a good son. I knew they made money with this to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table so I never kept any of them. I sort of wished I had kept some. They would be worth quite alot now.
Anyway one day sometime in the late 80's I was at my local comic book shop Comicbook World with my good buddy from college Chuck Baker. Before we left we were going through the $1 bin. When I found the book that is pictured above. I know that at least my Mom had handled this book before. If you look closely above the letter h in Archie you will see a sticker. It says 3/29 cents and it is my Mom's handwriting. I had to buy it. So a book that I could have had for free I was now paying a dollar for it. The owner of the store is Paul Mullins. He prides himself on customer service. When I was checking out he saw the sticker and said "Oh! It's got a sticker on it. Let me take care of that." I nearly leaped over the counter to stop him. "No! That sticker is why I'm buying it." Then of course I had to tell him this story. Anyway that was how I learned to read and it is what I had on my mind.

Al Hartley

One type of comic book that sometimes I have on my mind are the Christian comic books. It's only natural since I am a Christian and have a love for comic books. Usually they are just comic book versions of stories from the Bible. That's great. However, one man set himself apart. Actually it was God who did that for him. That man was Al Hartley. He did this by writting and drawing stories that people could relate to in the modern day. Along the way the story would give you a Bible lesson. He gave you Christian biographies of Tom Landry, Johhny Cash, David WIlkerson and more. His most important contribution to the field was being able to bring Archie Andrews and the whole Riverdale gang into the Christian comic book field. That was how God had planned it.
Al Hartley, like all of us, was not always a Christian. He was making a living drawing romance and humor stories in the 50's. Then in the 60's the superhero boom came. Most of Mr. Hartley's work was comming from Marvel and Stan Lee tried to use him on some of the superhero books they published. He did one for Thor as an artist then wrote a story for the Wasp and another one for Iron Man. But his best work was in the humor and romance areas. His books were selling very well in those areas. One strip that he drew was called Pussycat. It was for a men's magazine that Martin Goodman published. Mr. Goodman also published the Marvel comic line of books. When Mr. Hartley went to him and told him that he had become a Christian and didn't think he could do Pussycat anymore Mr. Goodman did not make him continue on the strip. However, he also took away all the other assignments Mr. Hartley had at Marvel.
For the first time Al Hartley was out of work. But not for long. Out of the blue he got a call to draw for Archie comics. Rarely has there been a better fit of character and creator. However, it didn't stop there. When Mr. Hartley was going to start producing Christian comics he asked the creators and owners of Archie if he could use their charactors. Since they were of the Jewish faith he didn't think they would allow him to use them. To his surprise they did. God used Al Hartley and his talent to get the word of God to alot of people in a most entertaining way. I have read that he prayed over every page that God would use it to reach others. His career was controled by God and he thanked Him for it every day with his artwork. Mr. Hartley left behind a wonderful legacy and it continues to this day with his comics and his family. Whenever I go to my local comic book shop I sometimes find one of his books in the $1 bin. I am already a Christian so instead of buying it for myself I leave it there. That way there is a chance that someone who likes Archie comics and is not a Christian will buy the book and hopefully something about it will speak to their heart. So if you see one of his books and don't know a non-Christian to give it to then leave it for someone else. But, if you do know someone who likes comics and is not a Christian, get it for them as a gift. Hopefully one day they will thank you for it when you both are in Heaven.
If you want to know more about Al Hartley then go to this page. http://members.aol.com/christiancomics1/Hartley.html There is more to his story.

Champion Sports and Rookie of the Year

I haven't seen anywhere these two stories have been compared. I have wondered about it for awhile now. So I guess I will do it here.
Champion Sports #1 featured a story called "The Kid Who Beat The Oakland A's" It was published in 1973 by DC Comics. I am not sure who owned them at the time but a few years later they were owned by Warner Brothers and still are to this day.
The story centers around a high school student. He wants to be a sports writer and decides to try out for the high school baseball team. That way he will have real life experience. He is not very good until he hurts his arm and suddenly he is one of the most powerful pitchers around. He get signed by a new team called the Bulls . Like the title said he pitches against the then world champion team Oakland A's and they win. Later a car accident cause them to have to operate on him. The Dr. notices something is wrong with his arm during the operation and fixes it. After that the boy just has a normal pitching arm and has to quit baseball.

Now rookie of the year. The move was produced by 20th Century Fox in 1993. It centers around a boy who is maybe in the 8th or 9th grade. Loves baseball and hurts his arm while playing baseball with his firends. Suddenly when his arm heals he has one of the most powerful pitching arms around. He is signed by the Chicago Cubs. Later another accident happens to his arm and he now throws normal for a boy his age and has to quit baseball.

I am not a person who believes in alot of lawsuits. However, I have always wondered why there were none around this. There are alot of similar plotpoints in these two stories. Maybe it is because that Warner Brothers didn't own DC at the time. Couldn't DC have done it on their own? Who knows? This was just something that I had on my mind.